Dr Manihttp://www.drmani.com
Writing - From the HeartThu, 09 Aug 2018 16:32:35 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.8http://www.drmani.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/cropped-mani-32x32.jpgDr Manihttp://www.drmani.com
3232http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/MakeMeaninghttps://feedburner.google.comBook Review : How To Create A Mindhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MakeMeaning/~3/9A-i9hYlhpE/
http://www.drmani.com/book-review-how-to-create-a-mind/#respondThu, 02 Aug 2018 16:25:50 +0000http://www.drmani.com/?p=4523I’m reading Ray Kurzweil’s “How To Create a Mind“. Back in medical college, I spent an incredible amount of time reading Snell’s ‘Neuroanatomy’ to understand the structure and function of the human brain. It’s a myriad of nerve connections, with different bits being hooked up to others, some nearby, others almost halfway across the brain. […]

Back in medical college, I spent an incredible amount of time reading Snell’s ‘Neuroanatomy’ to understand the structure and function of the human brain.

It’s a myriad of nerve connections, with different bits being hooked up to others, some nearby, others almost halfway across the brain. What’s more, there are redundancies galore. And keeping track of what links to what, through diagrams that showed sweeps of colored arrows pointing both ways, was mind boggling.

I read all of this, not because it’s so fascinating, but because we had an exam to pass at the end of a semester. About the lateral geniculate nucleus, or the caudate nucleus, or the red nucleus. And the insula, colliculi or corpus callosum. Without quite understanding how relevant, useful or practical it would all be.

It wasn’t.At all.

For the next twenty five years, I have never once had to use ANY of that information in my medical practice!

So, was it all a waste?

As Steve Jobs said in his famous 2005 Stanford commencement address, “None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But 10 years later, it all came back to me… You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward.”

Now, as I indulge my curiosity about artificial intelligence and read about machine learning, all this background swotting becomes suddenly useful in understanding the basis of how modern technology is digitally duplicating our brains.

Thanks to a friend’s recommendation, I picked up Ray Kurzweil‘s book – and in it is this lovely quote:

“Each of us lives within the universe – the prison – of his own brain. Projecting from it are millions of fragile sensory nerve fibers, in groups uniquely adapted to sample the energetic states of the world around us: heat, light, force, and chemical composition. That is all we ever know of it directly; all else is logical inference.”– Vernon Mountcastle.

And so, I’m back trying to understand more of those nerve bundles we collectively call “our brain”… by reading Ray Kurzweil’s ‘How To Create A Mind: The Secret of Human Thought Revealed‘.

If you’re fascinated by AI (artificial intelligence), interested in learning how the human brain works, and are unafraid of facing a few technically forbidding bits of neuroanatomy, you’ll enjoy this read as much as I am.

Even barely a quarter of the way through it, I’m posting this ‘sort of review’ here – because I’m sure the rest of it will be just as interesting, insightful and entertaining.

]]>http://www.drmani.com/book-review-how-to-create-a-mind/feed/0http://www.drmani.com/book-review-how-to-create-a-mind/When Arrogance Is Blisshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MakeMeaning/~3/JQjef-0BxTY/
http://www.drmani.com/when-arrogance-is-bliss/#respondTue, 17 Jul 2018 14:51:02 +0000http://www.drmani.com/?p=4369“I am an arrogant guy,” I wrote on a Facebook post. And it’s true. Most people think of arrogance as an undesirable trait. Not me. I have a slightly different perspective. And believe there are certain roles it’s practically impossible to play well unless one is. Like being a paediatric heart surgeon. Kids with heart […]

I have a slightly different perspective. And believe there are certain roles it’s practically impossible to play well unless one is. Like being a paediatric heart surgeon.

Kids with heart defects are often gorgeous, beautiful. It’s as if Nature compensates for one mistake by being abundant in another way.

An infant’s heart is the size of a lemon. My tiny patients weigh just a few kilograms. The smallest baby I’ve operated was barely 750 grams! Some have defects where their largest arteries are just a couple of millimeters wide.

There’s absolutely no room for error while operating on them. Even an inadvertent muscle twitch could kill my patient. And everyone in the room knows.

As I stand over one of these little angels, holding an instrument of cold, cruel steel in my hands, how could I possibly take the next step… unless I am supremely arrogant?

French surgeon Rene Leriche says: “Every surgeon carries about him a little cemetery, in which from time to time he goes to pray.”

He’s right. I have my own. And each time I scrub for an operation, fear grips my heart. A British consultant I trained with replied, when I asked him: “The day I’m no longer afraid, I’ll stop operating on kids.”

Yes, the fear can be paralyzing when a child’s life hangs in the balance.

My arrogance stems from having to make split-second decisions that could mean the difference between life and death. Not once or twice, but hundreds of times.

Unless I absolutely believe, in the absence of any evidence or experience, that the actions I’m about to take next will save a life, I couldn’t do my job. I need the confidence of my ‘arrogance’.

For years, I thought one of our professors was a very arrogant man – until I watched him perform an incredibly difficult operation. Since then, I’ve changed my opinion!

Arrogance is confidence that is not backed by competence.

And that’s why, for as long as it helps keep a child alive, I’ll happily be arrogant!

P.S. – If you haven’t watched this clip of Alec Baldwin’s ‘I Am God’ speech, do it… and you’ll begin to understand!

]]>http://www.drmani.com/when-arrogance-is-bliss/feed/0http://www.drmani.com/when-arrogance-is-bliss/BOOK REVIEW: ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything’ by Bill Brysonhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MakeMeaning/~3/tdvOoPxSc_g/
http://www.drmani.com/book-review-a-short-history-of-nearly-everything-by-bill-bryson/#respondTue, 12 Jun 2018 09:31:40 +0000http://www.drmani.com/?p=4363It’s just one mindgasm after another! Many years ago, I noticed this book on my shelf… and ignored it. Over time, it vanished from sight. I don’t know what happened, or where it went. And didn’t much care. For my last birthday, my sister gifted me another copy. Once again, it languished for almost a […]

Many years ago, I noticed this book on my shelf… and ignored it. Over time, it vanished from sight. I don’t know what happened, or where it went. And didn’t much care.

For my last birthday, my sister gifted me another copy. Once again, it languished for almost a year on my long list of ‘books to read’… until one fine day, two weeks ago, I opened it to start reading.

And that was that. I was hooked. Instantly. Irretrievably.

What a fascinating journey down the history of our universe, planet and species Bill Bryson took me on!

At times, I’ve wished there were books I’d read a few years sooner, and carried the lessons from for longer. ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything‘ is a book I wish I’d read… back when I was in school!

Boy, how it might have altered my life. My choice of career and interests. My future learning and hobbies. It would have been transformational.

In fact, even now, it will. Just the reading material I’ve got from references in this book will last me happily for another couple of years – at least. Each topic is so fascinating, the hardest part will be picking one to start studying first!

So let me share a little about Bill Bryson’s book itself.

‘A Short History of Nearly Everything’ takes a reader on this amazing, awe-inspiring journey through time. It begins with the formation of our universe. Explores the innovative and insightful leaps by scientists that helped us understand more of it – the size of our Earth, the formation of stars, the distances of galaxies, the miraculous vastness of space.

We’re 95 million miles away from the Sun. And 365 million miles from Jupiter. Which is itself FIVE TIMES further away from Neptune. In a fast rocket going @56,000 kmph, it’d take us 9 years to get to Uranus. And 12 years to reach Pluto.

But on the outskirts of our Solar System is the Oort Cloud – which is so far off, it would take our rocket TEN THOUSAND YEARS to get there! And the closest star, Proxima Centauri (one of 3 in Alpha Centauri) would take 25,000 years to reach.

After reading this, I pause to think. A sense of awe and wonderment creeps over me. We truly are alone, cut off from all our celestial neighbors by vast expanses of space. Tiny beings on a miniscule lump of rock meandering across the limitlessness of our universe.

And then, the author switches to ‘looking inside’ – and we deep dive into atoms and their structure. Go into the spaces within matter, explore quantum dimensions, examine the discovery of elements and radioactivity, unravel the mysteries of chemistry and alchemy.

Only then, after we’ve been grounded in understanding the physical and chemical construct of our world, do we enter the altogether mind-blowing and fascinating realm of life – and appreciate biology from a perspective that, even as a life sciences proponent for all my working years, I had never seen explained in such a delightful manner before.

If I had read ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything‘ as a schoolboy, I might have chosen to immerse myself into a different facet of biology than medicine. And I am furiously, desperately passionate about medicine – which tells you what you might look forward to, how you might feel too, when you read this brilliant book!

As I turned each page, completed every chapter, a thought kept resonating in my mind: “How little we know. How silly we are to think we do.“

An excerpt from the book:

“Thanks to the work of Clair Peterson, by 1953 the Earth at last had an age everyone could agree on (4,550 million years). The only problem now was that… it was older than the universe that contained it!”

This is a truly humbling read. One that’ll knock the hot air out of you – and prepare you to view our universe with awe, respect, and yes, a little fear, too.

It’s incredible that Bill Bryson manages to do all of this without drowning a reader in arcane technicality or dull lectures, but instead through the use of gripping personal stories and amusing anecdotes that humanize intellectual giants.

Stories like this one about Guillaume le Gentil, who set out from France in 1761 to India to observe the astronomical rarity of Venus crossing the Sun – an event so rare that it happened only once in over a century.

Each time, there were two crossings, but 8 years apart. Thanks to bad weather, le Gentil was stuck at sea and couldn’t study the event. Determined, he set up in India for the next one… EIGHT YEARS later!

Finally, after a long time, the big day rolled around. But to le Gentil’s disgust, a bank of clouds covered the sun for nearly the entire hour and 34 minutes of the planet’s crossing.

His long wait had been fruitless!

Disappointed, he decided to return to France. On the trip to the port, he was hit by a severe dysentery which nearly killed him. Haggard, wasted, disappointed, he took a ship home – only to be hit en route by a terrible hurricane that almost wrecked the craft.

Finally, eleven and half years after he left, he arrived home – only to discover that his family had had him declared dead in his absence… and plundered his estate!

Finally, it was James Cook who was the first to correctly figure out that Venus was around 150 million kilometers from Earth – by observing the same 1769 crossing that foiled le Gentil’s well laid plans.

This story arc repeats itself endlessly through the history of science and discovery. Bryson quotes an archaeologist, “First, they say you’re wrong. Then, they say it isn’t important. Finally, they credit the wrong person!”

There are countless vignettes that offer us a peek into the lives, travails and vanities of the greats of science whose discoveries shaped our understanding of the universe. It makes this a book light and entertaining enough to captivate all readers, young and old.

You don’t want the book to end. You want it to keep going and going.

But eventually it does, and ends on a sobering, even heart-rending note… when it talks about extinctions, and our role as humans in it. About how we’ve been callously casual, even perverse, in our willful and cheerful destruction of species that have struggled to survive for aeons.

“Nobody knows quite how destructive human beings are, but over the last fifty thousand years or so, wherever we have gone, animals have tended to vanish, often in astonishingly large numbers.”

With that observation, Bill Bryson signs off thusly:

“We really are at the beginning of it all. The trick is to make sure we never find the end. And that will require a lot more than lucky breaks.“

]]>http://www.drmani.com/book-review-a-short-history-of-nearly-everything-by-bill-bryson/feed/0http://www.drmani.com/book-review-a-short-history-of-nearly-everything-by-bill-bryson/Compatibilityhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MakeMeaning/~3/1fLEIHdSKKo/
http://www.drmani.com/compatibility/#respondMon, 04 Jun 2018 02:30:53 +0000http://www.drmani.com/?p=4352She likes her coffee weak and sweet; I prefer mine strong and black. She loves sour tasting stuff like gooseberries and raw mangoes; I like other flavors like grapes and ripe mangoes. She enjoys being outdoors and traveling; I’m a homebody who’s happier curled up with a book. She copes poorly with stress; I thrive […]

A sense of fulfillment, even pride, in what’s achieved pales in light of what remains to be done – and expected.

A solopreneur doesn’t think of bootstrapping his way to the first 15 or 20 customers – but sets up on a bigger scale right from the beginning.

An author believes finding 50 readers, or even 500, is ‘failure’ – and dreams of selling 50,000 copies of her debut novel.

Everyone’s got their eye on the “Numbers” ball… and it’s BIG!

But see another perspective.

A sick man who’s cured of his illness isn’t as concerned about how many more have benefited from his doctor’s skill – only that he did. And it doesn’t lower the value he received from the medico.

A college graduate who secured a high-paying job that will transform his family’s circumstances forever doesn’t care if he’s one of 40,000 others. Or 4,000. Or even 400. His achievement will change his world.

Big numbers are nice. They make for impressive statistics and pretty graphs.

Small numbers – like ONE – also matter.

Often, even more.

Because they tell stories of individuals who have won or lost, lived or died, succeeded or failed.

]]>http://www.drmani.com/meaningful-numbers/feed/0http://www.drmani.com/meaningful-numbers/Book Review: Koi Good News – By Zarreen Khanhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MakeMeaning/~3/fOYMvbt6pAY/
http://www.drmani.com/book-review-koi-good-news-by-zarreen-khan/#respondSat, 26 May 2018 06:45:38 +0000http://www.drmani.com/?p=4333‘Koi Good News’ is a deliciously humorous peek into the pregnancy of a Punjabi couple, Mona and Ramit Deol. Crafted in a unique storytelling style, you’ll find yourself flipping alternately from inside one’s head to the other’s, getting to see the same incident from two different perspectives. Once you get the hang of it, this […]

]]>‘Koi Good News’ is a deliciously humorous peek into the pregnancy of a Punjabi couple, Mona and Ramit Deol.

Crafted in a unique storytelling style, you’ll find yourself flipping alternately from inside one’s head to the other’s, getting to see the same incident from two different perspectives. Once you get the hang of it, this is fascinating.

And at times, incredibly funny!

Mona: He murmured something about mood swings. I wanted to hurl my shoe at him.

Ramit: My wife is now officially crazy.

– – –

Mona: I put his hand on my stomach and he grinned at me. It’s magical!

Ramit: Still can’t feel a damn thing.

– – –

Mona: Such great food! What a wonderful evening! I say as much to Ramit.

Ramit: Lovely evening with the bheed? Crazy pregnant woman…

– – –

Mona: I turned to Ramit and asked him how he was planning to tell his friends.

Ramit: I have to tell my friends? Won’t that just make them picture us having sex?

And there are some lovely, poignant moments that beautifully bring out the marvel and miracle of new life, and a family’s always-over-the-top reactions to the arrival of a child.

Week 5:The Discovery

Finally mustered up the courage to look at the test. Those were definitely two lines. Two. Lines. Oh God…

– – –

Week 12:The Scan

He asked if we wanted to hear the heartbeat. Suddenly, there was a magical drumming from within me.

And that’s when I felt it. I felt a little ball of joy rolling in my stomach.

– – –

Week 20:Baby’s kicking

It’s like I’m giving birth to Bruce Lee. That’s the amount of somersaulting and kicking this baby’s been doing

– – –

Week 22:Picking baby’s name

Our shortlist is Alina for a girl. And Kabir for a boy. Yes, I know neither of the names was on anyone’s shortlist earlier.

There’s also a fabulous cast of engaging characters like

Shania, Mona’s almost-crazy sister (who shows up on her doorstep wearing a snake around her neck!),

Laila, their supermodel neighbor (who’s also pregnant),

Mom (Mona’s) and Mummy (Ramit’s),

along with a cluster of gossipy, curious, interfering neighbors and friends who spice up the story perfectly.

If you’ve been pregnant, there’ll surely be at least a few incidents that rake up past nostalgia or disgust… and will make you smile or frown.

If you’ve gone through it with your family around, you’ll appreciate the innate honesty of a narrative that entertainingly depicts that fondly awaited special event of any Indian married couple, the one which evokes a repeated (even if unvoiced) question:

]]>http://www.drmani.com/book-review-koi-good-news-by-zarreen-khan/feed/0http://www.drmani.com/book-review-koi-good-news-by-zarreen-khan/Book Review: Keep Calm And Mommy On by by Tanu Shree Singhhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MakeMeaning/~3/F6QA437GJTs/
http://www.drmani.com/book-review-keep-calm-and-mommy-on-by-by-tanu-shree-singh/#respondWed, 23 May 2018 06:47:51 +0000http://www.drmani.com/?p=4339“That is exactly what motherhood seems like sometimes – velvet bugs scattering from a broken jar.” I laughed out loud. Both at the vivid imagery that sentence evoked, and at the ironical fact it evinced… that parenting is a journey fraught with peril and pitfalls. It’s a really long ‘examination’ on the subject of ‘Life’ […]

“That is exactly what motherhood seems like sometimes – velvet bugs scattering from a broken jar.”

I laughed out loud. Both at the vivid imagery that sentence evoked, and at the ironical fact it evinced… that parenting is a journey fraught with peril and pitfalls.

It’s a really long ‘examination’ on the subject of ‘Life’ – one that lasts a good twenty years or more… One where a hapless mom or dad can only hope and pray to pass graciously, not come out with shiny honors!

Because the “exam questions” are really, really tough.

Am I an adequate parent?

Is there a defined parenting path I followed?

Did I ensure optimal levels of “cognitive functioning”?

Have I “charted their trajectories” properly?

How CAN we, as parents, ever hope to answer them?!

But this book lets you dare to dream bigger. To anticipate a richer, better, more fulfilling experience in raising a child. And do it, not with rosy hopes and unreal fantasy, but while being rooted in solid ground truths and sober pragmatism.

Right from the beginning, I found myself highlighting snippets to return to later.

“Anger doesn’t work. Inner-cheek-gnawing, teeth-clenching patience does. And there is no cape. I wish there was.”

(Me, too. I’d wear it oh-so-proudly!)

“Don’t break into a sweat, blabber, distract, or worse, shoo them away. That only gets them more curious, and makes sure they don’t come to you for answers.”

“As parents, we somehow tend to measure everything by its usefulness.”

“Everything is discussed and dealt with – some with hugs and some with a timeout.”

“I know that this is the most heartbreaking part of parenthood, but they do grow up.”

(Sigh!)

“Sometimes, we need to simply talk to children to make them more human – talk, not preach.”

(Amen!)

“Each day, I question myself – am I doing the right thing?”

“As a parent, my focus is on providing opportunities”

“Do what you do best – love unconditionally and breathe deeply. You just might make it without a trip to the shrink!”

You probably won’t agree with everything in “Keep Calm & Mommy On”.

I didn’t.

There’s a section on religious instruction. Having studied in Christian schools myself, and seen how little that has influenced my spiritual journey since, I tend to agree with the author about a certain style or approach. But another parent with a different background or experience might disagree – even quite strongly.

And if you thought religion was the most contentious issue at stake, think again. There’s plenty of frank talk about porn and ‘moisture-bating’ (loved that word play!), news and teenage crushes, gender roles and sexual orientation, and a lot, lot more.

In other words, this isn’t a “guidebook to parenting” that one follows, step by step.

It’s an interesting, intriguing, thought-provoking manifesto to being a parent – one that forces you to confront and address each topic covered in it, iron out your conflicts to your own satisfaction, before you devise your own model or rulebook to follow in your unique journey through parenthood.

The value, to my mind, is in bringing up issues that matter. Ones you might overlook, forget, or even ignore – because they are uncomfortable, overly sensitive, or controversial.

The Joy of Nothingness (“They were floating in the blissful nothingness of the ‘best days of their lives'”).

This last was my favorite chapter in the book.

“What summer camps did we go to, as kids? And did we get bored?” Tanu Shree asks.

“Unplanned days give kids time to unwind, regroup and reenergize… In this in-between world, they are flourishing, discovering themselves, and taking a fresh look at the world around – while doing nothing.”

How true!

Maybe more parents will think that way after reading this book.

Personally, I’m past the stage where most of these lessons matter any longer. Yet I read the book actively, intently, sub-consciously scoring myself on past performance along the way… and in the end, (I think) passing the test comfortably!

For me, the core message that shines through the book is this:

Foster trust with your children, so that they feel comfortable coming to you for anything. Information. Support. Advice. Guidance. Love.

Following ‘Keep Calm & Mommy On’ is one way to make it happen.

You might even get through the adventure, mind and body intact, to proudly join Tanu Shree in citing the sanity plea: “It has been 15 years and I am still sane.”

]]>http://www.drmani.com/book-review-keep-calm-and-mommy-on-by-by-tanu-shree-singh/feed/0http://www.drmani.com/book-review-keep-calm-and-mommy-on-by-by-tanu-shree-singh/General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – A Simple Primerhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MakeMeaning/~3/NWT2eEEiqUM/
http://www.drmani.com/general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/#respondSun, 20 May 2018 17:26:25 +0000http://www.drmani.com/?p=4216General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is new legislation governing personally identifiable information (PII) and privacy of citizens of the European Union (EU). It goes into effect from May 25th 2018. WP GDPR Fix is a powerful plugin that will make your WordPress site compliant with the new rules. Learn more and get it here: click […]

]]>General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is new legislation governing personally identifiable information (PII) and privacy of citizens of the European Union (EU). It goes into effect from May 25th 2018.

Every organization that collects and uses data in Europe needs to know how to get GDPR compliant quickly. It’s urgent and important because non-compliance could be costly.

This simple guide to GDPR was written to help you with this.

DISCLAIMER: This GDPR report is based on the best research I could manage. However, I do NOT promise that it is thorough, complete, or even entirely accurate. I am NOT a specialist in this field. The content is drawn from multiple sources and provided here for informational purposes only.

It is NOT meant to offer personalized answers, advice, recommendations, or binding opinions. It is NOT a substitute for professional business advice. If you need professional help to implement GDPR in your business, talk to a consultant or hire a specialist – do NOT base it upon this information alone. If you want legal certainty, don’t rely on me, please consult a lawyer.

[ . ] – Check this box to confirm that you have read and accept this disclaimer.

Did you check the box?

Yes? No?

Well, in a pre-GDPR world, it wouldn’t matter.

I could just say “Proceeding beyond this point presumes that you accept these terms” – and it would be fine.

Not any longer!

For the kind of Personally Identifiable Information it is meant to safeguard, GDPR requires explicit permission to be obtained from your users.

So let’s talk about this in more detail.

What is General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)?

GDPR is new regulation that requires organizations that collect and use data to protect the personal data and privacy of EU citizens for transactions within member states. GDPR was adopted by the European Parliament in April 2016 and will be effective from 25th May 2018.

Who needs to know about GDPR?

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is relevant to any business, non-profit or other organization that stores, processes or uses personally identifiable information (PII) on EU citizens in Europe.

If you collect data on EU citizens you must comply with the new customer data protection law. Companies in the European Union, or even websites and apps that gather data on EU citizens are subject to GDPR.

Should I even bother about GDPR?

If you collect, store or use personal data from European citizens – even something as simple as a person’s name and email address – you’re bound to comply with GDPR.

It applies also if you have data about customers, subscribers, suppliers, employees or others who are EU nationals.

I’m only a small firm. Does GDPR still apply?

Yes. But smaller firms – defined as having 250 or fewer employees – have less to do than bigger ones to comply with GDPR. For instance, you won’t have to keep records of your data processing activities, or provide documentation for why or how long you collect or process personal data.

Which business sectors will be most affected by GDPR?

By when should you be GDPR compliant?

Companies should be GDPR compliant by 25th May 2018.

Why did GDPR happen?

Primarily due to growing public concern over privacy. High profile hacking and data abuse cases like the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica brouhaha have rightfully led to a push for new standards regarding customer rights over their data.

How big a deal is public concern over privacy?

Better-informed consumers demand greater transparency and responsiveness from people in charge of storing their personal data. And with every new data breach, concern is rising.

In a recent survey,

80% of respondents were worried about banking and financial data loss.

62% say they would blame a company rather than hackers if their data was lost in a breach of security.

And over 70% would boycott an organization that didn’t pay adequate attention to safeguarding their data.

How will GDPR help enhance a customer’s privacy?

Companies will be forced by GDPR to change how they collect, store, process and safeguard personally identifiable information (PII).

Companies can only collect and store data with explicit consent, and for no longer than necessary for the purpose for which the data was processed.

Companies should erase personal data upon request by the customer (also called the “right to be forgotten”) and be ready to export this data in a clear and simple format upon demand by a user.

What’s new about GDPR?

GDPR expands the range of what makes up personally identifiable information (PII). Things like a person’s IP address and cookie data are to be safeguarded in just the same way as their name, address or social security number. Fines are heavy for data breaches and non-compliance with GDPR norms.

What is personally identifiable information (PII)?

Personally identifiable information (PII) is data that can be used to correctly identify a specific individual.

Traditionally, social security and phone numbers, postal and email addresses have been considered PII. Technology has expanded this definition. Now one’s IP address, login ID, biometric data, digital images and even social media posts and behavioral data are classified as PII – and must be protected under GDPR.

What does General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) require from you?

The GDPR guidelines say that companies should offer “reasonable protection” for personal data and privacy to EU citizens. There are 5 broad areas your GDPR compliance efforts will cover:

a. Data Control

Process data for authorized purposes only

Maintain data accuracy

Restrict the exposure of subject identities

b. Data Security

Safeguards during data storage and further processing

Implement default data protection

Encrypt and otherwise secure data based on risk perception

c. Right to Erasure

Retain data for limited duration, not indefinitely

Erase data completely when subjects revoke consent

Delete data at the end of a contract or agreement

d. Risk Mitigation

Assess risks to privacy and security

Implement security measures and demonstrate GDPR compliance

Train and assist third-party partners to also comply

Prove full data control

e. Breach Notification

Notify appropriate authorities within 72 hours

Detail consequences of the breach

Communicate information about the breach directly to affected subjects

Do different countries have specific GDPR requirements?

No, all 28 EU member states have the same GDPR framework, so companies only have to meet that single standard across the EU.

Will companies outside the EU face problems from GDPR?

Nearly two-thirds of US companies feel GDPR forces a rethink of their European strategy. Many more feel the changes give their European competitors an undue advantage.

Do I need GDPR for non EU customers?

If you live outside the EU and can segment your audience to deal with people in the EU separately, then you won’t need to implement GDPR standards for non-EU customers. You must be GDPR compliant in relation to ‘data subjects’ in the European Union, though.

What if I’m in the EU but sell to customers outside the EU?

If you’re inside the EU, you must comply with GDPR in all respects.

How does GDPR affect third-party contractors?

With GDPR, there’s an equal liability for both data controllers (who own the data) and data processors (who may be outside organizations helping manage the data). If any third-party is not GDPR compliant, you are also not compliant.

How does GDPR address problems created by a data breach?

Under GDPR, there are strict rules to report any data breach – within 72 hours of detection. All entities in the chain must comply. Customers affected by a breach should be informed about their rights.

Contracts that companies have with data processors (like cloud providers, SaaS vendors, payroll providers, etc.) should clearly spell out responsibilities and define how data will be managed and protected. They should know who to call and how to respond if they are hacked. The policies, procedures and response structure should be in place.

PRINCIPLES OF GDPR

What are the principles behind GDPR?

1. GDPR is about lawfulness, fairness, and transparency.
2. It’s also about purpose limitation, gathering only data necessary for the purpose.
3. Data should be accurate.
4. Storage limitation ensures data isn’t kept for longer than needed for the purpose.
5. GDPR also puts adequate security measures in place.

What do you mean by lawful, fair and transparent?

Under GDPR you are forced to be upfront with what you’ll do with people’s data. If you collect emails for a lead magnet, you should have a link to your privacy notice right at the point of collection that transparently explains what you’ll do with that data.

You should detail

what you’re collecting

why you need the data

whether you’ll transfer it to third parties

who they are, and what they’ll do with the data

The idea is to let people make informed choices about sharing their data with you… and that’s possible only when you reveal what you’ll do with the data.

What is purpose limitation?

Being clear about the purpose for which you’re gathering data. Once you do this, you cannot later on just decide to use it for other purposes… without first seeking fresh consent.

What do you mean by minimum data necessary?

For a lead magnet sign up box, you need a person’s name and email address. But do you need their marital status? Or waist measurement? Of course not.

The general principle is to keep data to the minimum needed to serve the purpose you’re asking it for.

Can I ask for data that helps segment my audience?

GDPR doesn’t require you to segment audiences, but if doing so can tailor what you offer to their interests better, then it fits the principle driving the regulation.

The consent should be explicitly gathered. A statement like “To ensure we send you better targeted information, please tick the boxes to tell us which category you represent” will work for this purpose.

Why does data accuracy matter?

If your data is old and outdated, results will be poorer. For an email list with inaccurate data, bounce rates will be higher. That data should be deleted, or the errors corrected by getting in touch with subscribers in another way.

DATA COLLECTION

How to get consent in a manner that is GDPR compliant?

Consent is GDPR compliant when it is freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous. Individuals should signify by a statement or clear, affirmative action their permission to process personal data.

What is explicit consent?

Explicit consent is obtained in a manner that leaves no room for misinterpretation, through a clear written or spoken statement. In this process, you should explain clearly

why you are collecting personal data

nature of the data being gathered

how the data will be used

if it will be made available to third parties

details of any data being transferred

all the risks of such transfers

Can I use ‘pre-ticked’ boxes?

No, not under GDPR. You cannot have an opt-out consent process. It should be opt-in. Clear affirmative action means you cannot use pre-ticked boxes.

How does this matter to the customer/subscriber?

GDPR is all about giving data subjects genuine choice and control over their personally identifiable information (PII) and what they permit you to do with it.

What are the requirements of valid consent?

Under GDPR compliant norms, consent requests should be:

a. Unbundled – Consent may not be a pre-condition for signing up for a service, or linked to other terms and conditions.

b. Granular – Consent must be obtained separately for each component. e.g. if you want to get permission to share data with third parties, it should be a separate tick box the customer should check for giving consent.

c. Named – Consent should name other organizations or third-parties that rely upon the permission, and categories that will not be acceptable.

d. Documented – Records of consent should be maintained, showing what the person agreed to, what they were told, when, and how they consented.

e. Easy to Withdraw– Let users know they can withdraw their consent at any time, and explain the procedure (which should be easy)

Is an ‘Unsubscribe’ link enough for email marketers?

It’s good practice to have an opt-out link at the end of all your emails. But GDPR requires more. Every two years, you should offer a specific opt-out of your email list. You should also send out occasional reminders about subscribers’ freedom to withdraw consent and leave your mailing list, if they wish to.

Your email notification might say, “I hope you still enjoy what I’m sending you. If not, remember you can always opt-out by clicking the link below.”

How to safeguard yourself with regard to consent?

No secret police force is tracking this stuff and looking to catch you out! But if someone complains, or a competitor tries to trip you up, the responsibility is yours – as a data controller – to prove that you have consent.

Maintain records of consent. You should be able to prove that they gave consent on a specific date. Keep evidence of your privacy notice at the time. File away a copy with the dates on it to help prove the terms under which consent was granted.

Should I have/change my website cookie policy?

Yes. You need a cookie policy that outlines what cookies you serve on your website.

Is all consent equal?

Sensitive data related to racial or ethnic origin, political views, religious persuasion, genetic data, biometric details or health that could infringe on the rights and freedom of subjects is held to a higher standard of consent and protection.

Do I need legal grounds for GDPR compliant data collection?

If you don’t have a legal ground for collecting and processing data, you run the risk of complaints, investigations and fines.

For example, if you don’t have GDPR approved consent standards for your existing email list subscribers, then you need fresh consent from them prior to 25th May 2018. Otherwise, you don’t have lawful grounds to process their information – and would have to opt them off your list!

Organisations should be able to prove they have good reason to gather and process personal data.

Is it always necessary to get explicit consent?

No. There may be some other lawful basis to collect and process data, like:

a. Contract with an individual. For instance, if someone sends you an email asking for a quote, you can respond by email without seeking consent.

b. Compliance with legal obligations. If an employer must collect employee data to pay any applicable taxes, consent isn’t necessary to do that.

However, this is a gray area. You must balance it against the need to maintain privacy of an individual’s personal data. This needs careful assessment. The key is whether someone might REASONABLY expect to hear from you.

So if you want to send your existing customers marketing emails relevant to what they bought from you, it’s in your legitimate interest to do so. And they would reasonably expect to receive such communication. Plus, you’ll include an opt-out at the bottom of the email.

But what if they are customers you had 20 years ago? If you’ve not stayed in touch, they won’t reasonably expect to hear from you now. So you’ll need fresh consent to market to them.

The gray zone is for those in between, who purchased from you, say, 18 months ago. What do you do? Bottom line – Put yourself in the customer’s position. If they won’t expect to hear from you, then you’d need consent to start marketing to them again.

DATA PROCESSING

What falls under data processing?

Data processing may include anything you do with data – even just storing it. Maybe you have historic customer or subscriber lists you do nothing with. That still comes under the scope of GDPR.

How to deal with data processors?

If you control data that you send to someone else to process, you must safeguard this data and ensure the chain of protection is in place.

When you send data to a virtual assistant to process, or for another company to provide you with a service, the third party must also be GDPR compliant – and you should have a contract that spells out these terms. Otherwise, you are not allowed to use them.

Is the data controller liable for mistakes by the data processor?

If a data controller does everything necessary, asks all the right questions of a data processor, and has agreements in place to outline their responsibilities, then when something goes wrong the data controller is not liable – the data processor is.

On the other hand, if data controllers ignore the issue and work with a negligent processor, then they are liable for any consequences.

Who is a data processor?

Maybe it’s a virtual assistant, payroll provider, bookkeeper, a cloud-based accountancy software, a mailing list service like Infusionsoft, MailChimp, or AWeber, a web-based service like Google or Facebook – all are data processors because they process your information.

GDPR COMPLIANCE

How to get started with GDPR?

To begin with, you should find out

what data you have

why you are holding it

how you got it

what your lawful ground for processing it is

where and how it is processed

how long you’ll retain it

how secure it is (encryption, accessibility)

on what basis you share it with third-parties

How to go about becoming GDPR compliant?

a. Get top management to see the urgency in getting GDPR compliant

b. Involve all stakeholders. This isn’t an IT-only project. Anyone who uses customer PII needs to be a part of it.

c. Assess your risks. Know what data you store, and what risks attend its use. Find out how much PII your shadow IT is collecting and storing. Ignoring this carries the greatest risk of non-compliance.

e. Craft a data protection plan. Make sure it complies with GDPR requirements.

f. Don’t overlook mobile data. Employees access your organization’s PII on mobile devices. It carries unique risks. For instance, if employees can install personal apps on their work devices, and those apps access or store PII, they must do it in GDPR-compliant fashion. Controlling this is difficult.

i. Small organizations might need to ask for help, if they need assistance with getting GDPR compliant.

j. Test your response plan in the event of breaches. The 72 hour time limit to report and respond can pose challenges.

k. Establish a process for ongoing evaluation. Staying in compliance with GDPR is just as important as getting there.

What happens if you are not GDPR compliant?

The EU is well known for its readiness to slap stiff penalties for regulatory non-compliance. GDPR allows fines for non-compliance of up to 20 million Euros or 4% of global annual turnover, whichever is higher.

I’m a small business. Can I ignore GDPR safely?

Even without getting hit by heavy fines, you’ll suffer from reputation damage if you don’t comply with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) norms. And as new privacy laws, rules and regulations evolve, staying compliant will be advantageous.

If you don’t engage in shady practices or process huge volumes of data, you’re unlikely to show up on a regulator’s radar – unless there are complaints against you.

Is there a business-case for being GDPR compliant?

Protection of PII privacy is becoming a cultural norm. If you’re the exception who doesn’t care about it, you’ll lose customers. It’s better to embrace this shift, put best practices into place, and work to respect people’s data.

Will all companies be GDPR compliant by the deadline?

The consensus view among larger US companies is that upto half of them will not be GDPR compliant in time on all requirements.

How will GDPR penalties be assessed?

It’s hard to tell. Fines will likely differ based on the impact and damage that a breach has on individuals. Regulators will probably act quickly on a few companies that aren’t compliant, just to send a message. For now, a good-faith attempt to be in compliance should protect against harsh penalties.

How will GDPR change the way businesses think about data?

Many companies think about their data, and how they mine it, as an asset. That perception could change. With GDPR requiring explicit consent of customers, and firms needing to understand, manage and secure how their data flows, mindlessly sucking up huge volumes of data could come with a whole new set of liabilities.

Within a company, who is responsible for GDPR?

Responsibility for GDPR compliance is shared between a data controller, data processor and the data protection officer (DPO).

Data controllers decide how and why PII is processed, and make sure outside contractors comply.

Data processors (internal or third party) are liable for breaches if contracts are correctly drawn up. Otherwise, both your company and processing partner could be jointly liable for penalties.

The DPO will oversee data security strategy and compliance with GDPR. A DPO is mandatory for companies that process or store large volumes of PII on EU citizens, handle sensitive data, regularly monitor data subjects, or are public authorities.

Will being GDPR compliant have a business advantage?

Three quarters of respondents to a survey believed GDPR compliance will give them a competitive edge by boosting consumer confidence.

What is the future of GDPR and similar regulation?

Data privacy can no longer be ignored. As more scandal breaks out like the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica one, the clamor for appropriate data protection will only grow louder.

It is inevitable that enhanced data protection laws will soon be enacted in other parts of the world, including in the United States. Countries will be rated as being adequate or not, with regard to data privacy protections. And if one is good enough at data protection, transfers will be permitted freely to it.

Is there a checklist of things to do before being GDPR compliant?

a. understand what is personal data and what’s not
b. carry out an inventory of the data that you already have
c. think hard about your lawful ground for processing that data
d. if you need to get fresh consent, then do it before the 25th of May (email re-engagement campaign, Facebook retargeting, etc)
e. think about whether you need to add any tick boxes to your website for data collection and add suitable opt in wording to your sign up box
f. put a system in place for storing records of consent
g. get a new privacy notice, and send it to your subscribers
h. add a cookie policy, as well
i. understand the basis on which you’re transferring data out of the EU
j. prepare for enhanced user rights, offer a system for data subject requests
k. appoint a Data Protection Officer, if necessary
l. put in place a system for data breach notification
k. if you’ve got employees, then make sure you’re training them up on GDPR

I hope you found this General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) primer helpful in some way.

If you need professional help to implement GDPR in your business, talk to a consultant or hire a specialist – do NOT base it upon this information alone. If you want legal certainty, don’t rely on me, please consult a lawyer.

]]>http://www.drmani.com/general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/feed/0http://www.drmani.com/general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/Book Reading Journey : Books We Grow Out Of – And Then Grow Back Intohttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MakeMeaning/~3/1nzyA_9tXoc/
http://www.drmani.com/book-reading-journey/#respondSun, 13 May 2018 08:30:14 +0000http://www.drmani.com/?p=4271It’s interesting how a book reading journey evolves. Here’s my book journey… Noddy Right out of kindergarten, Noddy’s brightly colored storybooks and his Toyland friends became good pals – to visit as often as possible in the library. Secret Seven and Famous Five At age 7, it was fun to solve ‘mysteries’ with the SS […]

]]>It’s interesting how a book reading journey evolves. Here’s my book journey…

Noddy

Right out of kindergarten, Noddy’s brightly colored storybooks and his Toyland friends became good pals – to visit as often as possible in the library.

Secret Seven and Famous Five

At age 7, it was fun to solve ‘mysteries’ with the SS and Scamper. But a couple of years later, when the Famous Five (with Timmy) became my favorite series, the 7 seemed ‘childish’ by contrast.

William and Hardy Boys

Entering double digits, the rough and ready William and his Outlaws won my heart for adventure, alongside Frank, Joe and Chet. Nice, clean fun with just a hint of mortal danger, that paralleled our way of life in middle school.

Perry Mason and Agatha Christie

Crossing the threshold into teenhood was marked by a darker shift in reading tastes that now veered towards crime and violence.

During 7th grade holidays, I whipped through grandpa’s collection of 89 Perry Mason novels (with another 30 or so A.A.Fair’s), often reading two in a day, while plopped in front of the TV playing the India-Windies test series live.

By the time I was 13 years old, the courtroom battles were supplanted in interest by criminal psychology, bringing Hercule Poirot and Miss.Marple into my literary life.

James Bond and Jack Higgins

A year later, my reading genres grew a little naughtier. Our school library carried Ian Fleming’s novels, and 007’s escapades brightened up late night reading hours. And for pure action and thrills, there were diverse ultra-masculine (and curiously sex-less) heroes of the Jack Higgins and Craig Thomas novels.

Alistair Maclean and Frederick Forsyth

While in 10th grade, I appreciated nuances of language better. Maclean and Forsyth came into my life with gripping stories, dramatic scene-setting and brilliant narratives. ‘Cliff-hanger’, ‘Unputdownable’ and ‘Edge of seat’ really meant something, then.

Sidney Sheldon, John Grisham and Jeffrey Archer

The shift from there to a harsher, more ‘realistic’ universe of crime, adventure and thrills happened subtly, but surely. ‘A Stranger In The Mirror‘, ‘The Firm‘, and ‘Kane and Abel‘ were my introductions to these authors, who soon became my go-to favorites for reading pleasure.

Harold Robbins

With every new “adult-er” author, those who went before appeared, by contrast, more “childish“. The themes grew bolder, the characters more multi-dimensional, the stories more complex, more human.

And so, I ended up holding a Robbins’ novel – and was hooked! It was the sex, primarily. Harsh, rough, violent. Shocking, sensational, and deeply disturbing. No, I’m not talking about the explicitly steamy scenes, but the raw human emotions that underlay them.

‘A Stone for Danny Fisher‘ and ‘79 Park Avenue‘ shaped many a young man’s attitude towards important issues other popular writers skirted, unwilling to talk about. Robbins’ brought them up front and center. Forced you to look at them. And think.

Irving Wallace and Robert Ludlum

Craving complexity and layered themes, my ‘growing up’ as a reader, in a sense, was overseen by yet another breed of authors. ‘The Bourne Identity‘ raised the bar too high for many other books to match. ‘The Almighty‘ seems more relevant to the ‘fake news’ world of today than it was back then!

And my top favorite book of all time, Mario Puzo’s ‘The Godfather‘, fits perfectly into the puzzle here, molding my thoughts and views forever on so many different aspects and issues.

Ayn Rand and Richard Bach

From where the journey had taken me, it was but a hop, step and jump to a higher level of abstraction. And I found ‘The Fountainhead‘ (which I abandoned midway though) and ‘Jonathan Livingston Seagull‘ (which I read over and over again). They were my first forays into allegory and metaphor, an introduction to the various -isms that shape our lives in sundry ways.

For the next fifteen years, I can’t recall any breakthrough developments in reading taste or genres. It was pretty much ‘more of the same‘, with minor twists and a few biographies and spiritual texts tossed in.

And then, around age 35, I sensed an interesting shift begin.

The ‘older’ books once more seemed appealing.

So I turned the clock back – to read them all over again!

Maybe it’s because there were now kids and young people from the next generation around, all talking about authors we once found pathbreaking and paradigm shifting.

It evoked nostalgia.

And that led to scouring long-locked bookshelves, lofts and attics for old favorites. Dusting them off. And sitting down with a long cup of hot tea to rekindle fond memories.

]]>http://www.drmani.com/book-reading-journey/feed/0http://www.drmani.com/book-reading-journey/Getting Nuancedhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MakeMeaning/~3/5EEcDcwXyt4/
http://www.drmani.com/getting-nuanced/#respondFri, 11 May 2018 02:33:39 +0000http://www.drmani.com/?p=4261Crossing the road any major Indian city is an art; a challenge; an act of daredevilry. Yesterday evening, I came to a halt at the sight of a line of crazily veering vehicles – only to feel a tug at my arm. I turned my head. “What are you stopping for?” asked a querulous voice. […]